So far, the World Race has tugged on a lot of my past experiences and skill sets, but the one that has been most influential is my experience leading Young Life.
Two years ago, I was asked to join our local Young Life chapter. Saying ‘yes’ to Young Life was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. In fact, without Young Life I would not be on the Race.
Young Life was founded in 1941 by a man named Jim Rayburn with the central idea that “everyone has the right to know the truth about Jesus Christ. They have a right to know who He is. They have a right to know what He’s done for them. They have the right to know how they relate to that. They have a right to know Him personally. Furthermore, they have a right to make their own choice for Him… [Young Life] is a group of people bound together in the single-minded purpose that there is no price too high to pay to see to it that young people have a chance to know the Savior. That’s not just what Young Life is about, that is all that Young Life is about.”
And, that is all I want to be about.
One of the many reasons I came on the Race was to grow in my knowledge of Jesus and to see Him move in new ways to better be able to share who He is back at home.
While I went on the Race to become a better leader back home, being a leader also helped prepare me for the Race.
Here are five lessons I learned while leading Young Life that prepared me for the Race:
- Flexibility is key. Things don’t always go as planned. Sometimes people get sick and you have to come up with a game or talk on the spot. It is always good to have a few of these in your back pocket. I’ve used my Club Talk from last October three times now on the Race. Also, sometimes you won’t have all the details and that is okay.
- Learn to be unoffendable. You don’t always get a thank you for driving an hour to watch someone’s game or for sitting through the rain to watch a sport you don’t know the rules for. Sometimes kids intentionally ignore you. This month, kids have pointed at my stomach saying ‘baby’. Learn not to take it personally.
- The best place to reach people is where they are at. Young Life doesn’t set up a program for kids to come to, rather leaders go out and meet kids where they are at—in their space. This creates room for more authentic relationship and more credibility. The same is true here on the Race. We go out and meet people in the slums, at the temples, in the cabin restaurants, etc.
- You can operate on limited sleep and coffee, but not forever. When I try too hard to do it all, I don’t do anything well. Know your limits and set boundaries so that you don’t burn out. Make sure to take rest days.
- God doesn’t call us to be comfortable. Embrace it. Step out in faith that God will compensate for your weaknesses. Also, don’t be afraid to get messy and to take that pie in the face.
Also, check out this video recap I made of our month in Thailand:
